


Time to Mourn

by celeste9



Series: 30 Day Star Wars OTP Challenge - Fluff [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Childhood Memories, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 20:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7948495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Poe spends half the night making non-existent repairs to his X-wing, Rey knows something's wrong. She isn't sure how exactly to help but she is determined to try.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time to Mourn

**Author's Note:**

> Day 22: one comforts the other, turning an angsty situation into a fluffy one

The sky was dark and the stars were all out as Rey walked to the hangar bay. The night air was chilly and Rey was glad she had grabbed a jacket before she ventured outside. 

She found Poe just where she had last seen him, still entrenched in work on his X-wing. BB-8 saw her first, zooming over and beeping quickly and anxiously in binary.

“I’ll take care of him,” Rey promised. “Leave him to me, okay? Go power down for the night, Beebee. You deserve a rest.”

The droid hesitated and turned his eye back briefly to Poe, but after another reassurance from Rey, he rolled off out of the hangar. 

Poe must have realized by now that Rey was there but he still wasn’t paying her any mind, standing up on a ladder and focused on the inside workings of his ship. It looked like he was doing something with the hyperdrive now and Rey knew for a fact he hadn’t been having any issues with it. So he really was just fiddling for the sake of fiddling, like he did when he was trying to cope with stress or when he was upset. 

Rey came nearer to him, leaning up against the side of the ship with her arms crossed, carefully ensuring she was positioned within Poe’s field of vision. “Need some help?”

Only glancing down to her for a second, Poe said, “Nah, I’m almost done.”

“You said that two hours ago. It’s late. Aren’t you going to come to bed?”

“You go without me. Don’t wait up.”

This wasn’t going to work for Rey. One of the things she liked best about Poe was that he was honest and he didn’t play games; he made her feel comfortable. She wasn’t going to let him wiggle out of this and pretend he was fine when he clearly wasn’t. He would never let her do that, so why should she?

Poe’s sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his hands and his forearms were smeared with grease. He looked like a mess but Rey had never minded mess. She stretched her arm out to touch his knee; it was all she could reach. “What’s wrong, Poe? Finn said you were talking to your dad earlier. Did he have bad news?”

“No, not like that. It was nothing. Silly, really.”

“It’s obviously not silly if it’s bothering you. Please talk to me.” Rey hoped she didn’t sound childish. She couldn’t help but be hurt that Poe didn’t want to confide in her, that he didn’t seem to trust her. This was still new to her, relationships, and while somehow it generally seemed easy with Poe, because he was _Poe_ , she still felt out of her depth sometimes, uncertain and awkward. 

And this wasn’t about her, really, she knew. It wasn’t fair to make it about herself and her feelings.

Actually looking at her now, Poe set down his tools and swiped the back of his arm over his forehead, leaving a dirty streak on his face. He climbed down the ladder so they were on even footing. “My dad always contacts me when it’s my mom’s birthday, that’s all. Like I said, silly. It’s dumb to feel sad when she’s been dead most of my life.”

“Poe,” Rey said, not sure what she should do. She lacked a frame of reference for his pain; she couldn’t fathom how it felt to mourn a mother you had loved and who had loved you. Rey couldn’t remember her mother. Rey missed her mother in the way that you missed the absence of something you had never had. “You loved her. It doesn’t matter how long she’s been gone; she still is. Why would you think it’s dumb to miss her?”

Poe ran the tip of his finger down Rey’s cheek. His eyes looked so tired, like he hadn’t slept. “At least I knew my mother.”

“It’s not a competition. You can still feel sad even if your childhood might not have been as sad as mine was.”

“It sounds stupid when you put it like that.”

“Because it is stupid.”

The sound of Poe’s laughter, small and brief as it was, was a relief. “I love that you’re always the first person to tell me when I’m being an idiot,” he said.

Rey smiled at him. “I think that’s my duty as your girlfriend.” She still liked the way it felt to say that. His girlfriend. It reminded her that she was loved, that she belonged to someone and that someone belonged to her.  
“A duty you clearly get a lot of pleasure out of.” Poe turned back to his ship, evidently aiming to finish what he had been in the middle of. He went back up the ladder so he could get to the hyperdrive and as he worked, he said, “I was just thinking about how much I loved watching my mother fix things when I was a kid. Her A-wing, our speeder, even the kitchen appliances. She was good with her hands, had a knack for knowing how things worked. She always explained everything she was doing, even when I was too little to understand half the words she was saying.”

Rey wanted to touch him, wished he was on the ground. “Is that why you’ve been in here all night? Because it reminds you of her?”

“Yeah, I guess. That and, well, you know.” Poe shrugged.

“It’s comfort to you. Your ship.”

Poe made a small noise of agreement and closed the panel. He came down again, setting his toolbox on one of the ladder steps so he could put everything away. Rey moved behind him, wrapped her arms around Poe’s waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.

This was better. Rey liked being able to feel Poe there with her, like it grounded her. 

He tilted his head back towards Rey so he could see her better. “Sorry if I worried you. Sorry I’ve kept you up.”

“No,” Rey said. “No, don’t be sorry.” She leaned in so she could kiss Poe’s cheek, sliding her hands up his chest.

Sighing softly, Poe raised his hands to grip Rey’s arms, like he could hold her there, keep her with him.

As if Rey wouldn’t stay on her own, for as long as he would have her, for always, she hoped.

“Come to bed,” Rey murmured, moving a little so she could see Poe’s face better but still staying pressed to him. “You can tell me about her, if you want.”

Poe lifted one hand to stroke over the back of Rey’s head, over her hair. “I’d like that.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t have the chance to meet her.”

“Me, too,” Poe said, his smile soft and wistful. “She would’ve really loved you.”

Rey knew that was the biggest compliment Poe could ever give her.

_**End** _

**Author's Note:**

> I am on Tumblr [here](http://serceleste.tumblr.com) if you want!


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